(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to structural members for use in cooling compact heat exchangers used in turbine engine components.
(2) Prior Art
Compact heat exchanger arrays are used in a wide variety of turbine engine components to effect cooling of the components. Many such compact heat exchangers include arrays of pedestals. To make efficient use of compact heat exchanger pedestal arrays, cavities are created with substantial distances between inlets and exits and between side walls of the array. The pedestals within these arrays may be susceptible to fracture at temperature and deflections under operation. With time, this could lead to the hot wall bulging into the flow path due to pressure loads and temperatures. Additionally, the unsupported panel might have vibrational natural frequencies that coincide with engine forcing functions during operation, which could lead to high cycle fatigue.